


Aphelion

by Hedgi



Series: Apastron [4]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Captivity, Gen, Nightmares, all aboard the pain train, pre-Season One, situations that don't get better when you wake up, the DEO was a shady shady place before J'onn took over folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 21:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15445968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hedgi/pseuds/Hedgi
Summary: Aphelion: noun.The point in the orbit of a planet or other celestial body where it is farthest from the Sun.A brief glimpse at Kara's time in DEO custody, before J'onn's discovery





	Aphelion

Sometimes, Kara could tell when she dreamed. She’d find herself in her old bedroom, the warm red sunlight of home shining through windows. Baby Kal would be there, her aunts, her things. Familiar faces and colors, sharper than memory. Sometimes, the dreams were nonsense, silly things she couldn’t remember except for a feeling of comfort. She liked those dreams, craved them, though they were rare, and she always woke up. 

 

Sometimes, she wasn’t sure if it was reality or sleeping-terror, the darkness of the cell, the masked figures with their weapons and tools and hands that held her tight. Dream and wakefulness blurred together, painful, and she wasn’t sure which she wanted them all to be. It was hard to keep track, after so long in this dark, cold place, what she remembered, and what she only thought she did. How long had it been since she’d been pulled from her pod? Too long. Long enough. 

She thought she was awake, she could feel the cold aching in her bones, and heard the sound of footsteps, breathing. She dared to look up. They had always hit her for that, but she was of the House of El, even as a captive, and she would not show weakness on her family’s behalf by submitting. All she had now was her name, and her family’s memory, and she would not let these monsters break her. Her breath left her as she recognized the face in the mockery of her fallen-home’s lighting.

“Mother?” Her heart swelled. Mother must have found another pod, after all, must have come to rescue her, to save baby Kal-el, to take them to the safe place she had promised would be waiting. She tried to surge forward, stumbling, her bare feet cold and numb. They had made her run, yesterday, for hours, and she still ached. The chains stopped her. “Mother!”

But her mother just stood there. Watching. Kara didn’t understand. “Please, help.”

Allura opened her mouth, but the words were a babble, the same language that the Bad People used, too fast for Kara to understand. She turned away.

“Mother! Please don’t leave me again, mother, I’ll be good, please.” Her voice broke, her legs failing her.

Her eyes opened to the same half-darkness, empty now. A dream, but there was still salt on her skin, tears slipping down her cheeks. She curled tight into a ball, pressing her face into her knees and sobbing. The chains around her ankles held as firm as ever, glinting coldly in the dim red light. There was no one to see her break. That didn’t make it easier. 

“I’ll be good, mother, father, please, please take me home. Don’t leave me here. Mother, mother, please.”

A small sound echoed faintly, the horrible noise of the door to the hallway closing. She thought she saw a shadow, near the doors.  She flinched, trying to quiet herself. They did not like it when she spoke. But if anyone was watching, they didn’t make a sound, didn’t mock her, or scold, or threaten. She froze, waiting. Brave. She had to be brave again. She couldn’t let them see her like this. Then, abruptly, the sound of the door again. Still she held herself, waiting for whatever would come next.   
  


The thin red light did not so much as flicker.


End file.
